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What does anyone know about the Hebrew Publishing Company. They started in the 1890s and were based in Manhattan mostly, though in the late 1990s they seemed to have a Far Rockaway address. By the 2000s they seemed to have fallen off the map, being unable to locate then anywhere currently.
They made their money reprinting the same volumes for decades. Siddurim such as Shilo, Tikkun Meir. No new works came out since shortly after 1960.
The advent of modern computer driven printing/publishing made their library of set type obsolete and worthless.
The baby boom requirements of Hebrew and English texts for non-frum afternoon and Sunday Hebrew schools kept them viable until the late 70s.
They could not compete with the computer based type setting of newcomers such as Art Scroll.
Finally, they fell victim to cheap overseas printing and the availability of many resources on the internet.
And don’t forget the ubiquitous blue Birnbaum siddurim. I still have a copy that my dad z”l wore out from years of use. In fact, I found an old one in shule here that someone had left. I have pleasant memories of learning to daven for the amud from those siddurim.
Joseph…………..
Many of their publications were not copyrighted by HPC. Some were simply typeset by them copying siddurim from Europe.
US Copyrights expire.
All copyrights for things published before 1923 are expired. Things published before 1978 had a 28 year copyright if not renewed. Since 1978 new copyrights generally have 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation (whichever is shorter).
Sadly, HPC is defunct as a publisher, but some individual may own the name.
A little googling reveals that the company was bought by Charles Lieber of Spencertown, NY in 1980. He died in April of this year at age 95. Judging from his NY Times obituary, he was involved in the Reconstructionist movement.
CTLAWYER-
The shilo siddur was and still is published by shilo publishing ( they still exist). You can easily find them with a simple search.
There is an 1 August 1976 New York Times, p. 40 article titled “It’s Onward and Uptown for Hebrew Publishing Company,” which details the now-defunct company’s move. Its bookstore moved to 314 Grant Street, but at the time of publication, the Company did not have a mid-town address, yet. Its original location at 77-79 Delancy Street, corner of Allen & Delancy Streets, was the original Bank of United States building. The HPC moved because a new owner bought the building.
Hebrew Publishing printed the original Torah Temima Chumash.
I think Shilo is now owned by Judaica press. When I was a child my father gave me a small “pocket size” Shilo siddur that I used for years. When I was a rebbi and needed prizes to motivate the children I gave the same pocket size shilo siddur to my talmiddim. I recently met talmid who told me he used it way after he got married. (And he got it in the 3rd grade) He can no longer use it because he works for Art Scroll 🙂Working for Artscroll prohibits one from using a siddur published by another company?
How about a gemara?
Who owns the company now? Can their seforim legally be reprinted?
HPC was mechallel shabbos with their printing. It might be assur altogether to use their books.
I have a sneaking suspicion that that was the response this thread was trying to solicit all along…
Love to find out more as we have an 1881 Bible from them, their address was 50-52 Elridge Street in New York. And entered into Library of Congress inn1881 by J.H. Kantrowitz
Seems they were publishing before the 1890’s
I have a siddur printed by Romm Publishing from 1946 in New York. It is a copy edition of the siddur Seder Avodah that the Romm family printed. The oddity is that it has the prayer for the welfar of the Tzar and Tzarina Nikolai Alexandrivich.The printing date is well after the Communust Revolution and after all was printed or published in the USA!.It is an excellent pocket size edition with precise Hebrew text, I don’t kow to what extent the Romm family continued publishing books on the USA or if they had any connection to HBC.Anybody know?
Trying to find the year the Mahzor Or LeIsrael leRosh Hashanah v’Yom Kippur organized by M. Stern was published.
It might be ‘Assur’ to read your comment as you are a Michallel Yom-Tov, Shabbos, Ve’Chol. With your Motzee Shem Ra’ah/ LH.
Thank You Very Much.You’re from the Midwest…….
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